PS3 Online a 'knockoff', says Live marketing man

In a cheeky little interview with US website GameSpot, Xbox Live marketing boss Aaron Greenberg has dismissed the PS3 Online service as a 'knockoff' of Xbox Live, dismissing the new details emerging from last week's Gamer's Day event as demonstrating little new or inventive.

"We're flattered that we've created a service that is breeding yet another knockoff", Greenberg added cheekily, questioning the originality of Sony's offering, whilst defending the fact that Xbox Live Gold requires a subscription while PS3 Online will be free. "We will compete with them in the same way we have for the last four years by out-innovating and focusing on community, value, and the content that gamers want. They offered basic free matchmaking on the PS2, and from what we can tell, their online story has not evolved much," the marketing big cheese explained.

Last week saw a raft of new details emerging on Sony's service, which will include match-making, chat, internet browsing and a store from the launch of the new console. Greenberg, meanwhile, revealed that news on the Xbox 360's Dashboard Autumn update would be forthcoming soon... with much excitement expected, naturally. We'll keep you posted.